Interactive television experts gathered on Saturday at SXSWi in Austin, Texas to discuss the future of social TV.
Panelists, which ranged from the likes of Chloe Sladden of Twitter to Gavin Purcell from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, discussed ways in which they incorporate social media into popular television shows such as “No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”
Fred Graver, the senior VP of Travel Channel, spoke to the audience about his initial skepticism regarding the integration of Twitter into “No Reservations.” “It wasn’t a no brainer for us.” said Graver. “The whole thing here is if you have 36-48 hours before the show premiers, do you want to spend your time talking about Tony (Bourdain) live-tweeting? And that was a big discussion but we decided, yes lets do it.”
Doing it proved to be successful for Graver and the Travel Channel, with “No Reservations” currently at more than 1 million “likes” on Facebook and an increasingly active Twitter following.
Watch the video for more highlights from the discussion.
MUSIC: Artist: Pitx Song: See You Later (ft. Fireproof Babies, Bmccosar) Source: Freemusicarchive.org
Aaron Forth, Vice President of Product for personal finance and budgeting service Mint. com, talked at SXSW this week about the challenges the company faced when going mobile. As a service whose business model depends on people visiting the Mint.com website, the decision to launch a mobile application was not one the company took lightly, Forth said.
But Mint did decide go mobile, launching first on iPhone, then on Android, after studying the actions of its mobile user base. And now, Mint is planning to launch a brand-new iPad application in just a few months – a prospect that has the company again rethinking its product for the tablet’s multitouch interface.
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Case Study: Mint Goes Mobile
Mint says that the majority of its users have a phone connected their account with the service, and 20% are relying only on a mobile phone. Given those demographics, the company knew it wanted to serve the mobile audience with native applications.
Forth then explained the thought process the company went through when creating its first mobile app (the iPhone version of Mint). The results make for an interesting case study which other developers may be able to learn from.
Step 1: Pick Your Platforms Carefully
Forth said that when it came to making a decision about what devices to launch its applications on, the first thing they looked at was device adoption trends. What devices have good market share?, they wanted to know. The answer was Android and iPhone and Android, each which have “massive distribution,” said Forth.
Another important factor was whether or not the platforms they chose would have a way to get apps directly to consumers via an app store environment. Again, both iPhone and Android filled this need.
Finally, they needed a platform where there was a good SDK available and developer support. In this area, Forth said Mint found that Apple’s strict guidelines didn’t interfere with development, but actually helped them understand very simply what they could and could not do. They didn’t have to figure out the phone, he said, they could just focus on development.
Another key factor in the decision was finding a platform where there was low fragmentation. “It’s hard enough to support multiple browsers and versions,” said Forth. Mint wanted to find platforms that had a fragmentation strategy plan. Apple is great example of this, he said.
Once the company decided what platforms it wanted to build apps for, it created some general goals. For example, the company decided it wanted to earn a top three position in the free finance category and it wanted to take advantage of specific platform features available to native apps, because that would make it more likely that platform maker would highlight the app within its store as a showcase example of its platfrom.
Finally, Mint wanted to deliver on-the-go utility to its users, and make Mint easy to access. But most importantly, because Mint needed visitors to its website to earn revenue, it decided to build its mobile app as more of a companion to the site, instead of a standalone application.
Step 2: Figure Out What’s Transferrable
The second question Mint needed to address was to figure out what’s reused versus what’s new when going from the Web app to mobile. “You basicaly tear down the idea of what your product is when you go mobile,” said Forth.
On the “reused” side, there was only brand and positioning, the finance data and the user profile that was ported to the mobile app from the Web. Everything else was new. This included, of course, the UI itself- the interaction and visual design involving gesturing, a one-button interface on iPhone and the fact that there’s not a lot of typing involved when using mobile apps. It also included new security features where encrypted protocols were used to exchange data, plus the use of passcodes and more.
Also new were to the company were the skills involved in the app’s creation (languages like Objective C and Cocoa), the different development environments used, the QA process and the authentication methods.
Even the service layer and architecture was new, because the layer of APIs used for the earlier Mint Web app were different than ones that support the mobile app. On a phone, explained Forth, the app needs to be more efficient when delivering the payload of data to the device. It’s bursting data to you upon loading, instead of streaming data to you, like on the Web.
Step 3: What is the End User Experience You Want?
Finally, Mint wanted to focus on the user experience, keeping in mind that the mobile app will serve different needs than Web app, and its design needed to evolve in order to embrace device it runs on.
Mint designed the app to focus on core jobs using simple screens: an overview screen, accounts screen, expenditures screen and budget screen.
In a later version of app, Mint made it easier for new users to sign up for the service directly from the app itself. This was important to the company because Mint’s users with mobile phone are more engaged than the others. After 4 weeks, 20% of Mint’s new sign-ups were from mobile, said Forth.
Mint Coming to iPad!
Now Mint is developing its first iPad application, which again is forcing the company to redefine what its app is. The tablet form factor offers new possibilities, and new use cases, said Forth. Within the iPad app, some of its graphic libraries will be built in HTML5, for example, when previously on the Web, its graphics were built with Flex.
It will also incorporate gesturing for things like categorizing transactions, which will work via drag-and-drop. Like its iPhone counterpart, the iPad app will be more similar to the iPhone than website, as there won’t be a deep, exhaustive set of menus. It will serve as a companion to the website as well.
In the Q&A session at the end of the talk, an audience member asked why Mint didn't launch on iPhone and Android at the same time. "In an ideal world, we would," said Forth. But there were time constraints. Also, Mint's developers were more comfortable and familiar with iOS, which made it easier to launch there first. If there is etiquette around when to launch on different platforms, we probably broke it, Forth said.
In the summer of 2010, Foursquare’s Head of Business Development Tristan Walker and American Express’s Vice President of Global Marketing Capabilities David Wolf started talking about ways to work together to redefine loyalty for local merchants.
The fruit of their conversations is now on display in the city Austin, Texas where 60 merchants — including Whole Foods, Starwood Hotels and Stubb’s BBQ — are offering Foursquare users “spend $5, save $5″ rewards when they load the special and swipe their AmEx cards.
The pilot program started Friday and will run through Tuesday, March 15. Participating merchants have posted “Austin Unlocked” window clings to highlight their participation, and Foursquare users need only register their American Express cards to unlock this new type of special — the Loyalty Special.
Loyalty and Location in Real-Time
On Friday, Walker and I journeyed to Le Cafe Crepe so he could demonstrate the special in action. Upon arrival, Walker launched Foursquare, checked in to the cafe, tapped to redeem the offer and then hit the green “Load to Card” button to initiate the special — see a 44-second walk-through in the video above.
Several minutes later (there was a long line), Walker placed his order, the cashier swiped his AmEx card, and then together we waited for proof that the $5 savings reward had been activated by his swipe. Seconds later, Walker received a push notification alerting him that he had successfully redeemed the special. Soon thereafter, he also earned the “Swiped @ SXSW” badge — for each badge redeemed, American Express is donating $1 to Grounded in Music.
Walker was quick to point out that the experience was nearly frictionless, happening exactly at the time of sale without requiring integration with the cafe’s point-of-sale system.
This is what Walker and Wolf believe is a ground breaking initiative that finally creates the closed loop between a consumer’s digital behavior and their offline spending behavior.
Phase One
Wolf calls the South by Southwest Interactive relationship with Foursquare, “phase one.”
Being a first-of-a-kind program, AmEx decided to not only fund the offer — it’s paying for all of those $5 credits — but to also send out a street team to recruit and train local merchants, print up informative cards for attendees and make QR code pins to get the word out at the festival.
American Express is making the financial investment because it believes it can use phase one to get to phase two: when the company’s local merchant network will be able to set up, run and fund their own offers.
Wolf talks about the partnership as a strategic move on behalf of the company to align itself with a hip startup working on the location-meets-loyalty challenge. “We wanted to partner with a young, innovative company who understands the importance of providing value to merchants,” he said.
Wolf also explains that “American Express is anxious to play in this space because of this closed loop of information that we get.” To create the closed-loop effect, American Express is allowing a third party to access its APIs for card member data, merchant data and transaction data for the first time ever.
Regular Since 2009
On Foursquare’s end, Walker speaks of the startup’s desire to work with a preeminent company that truly understands loyalty, understands customer appreciation and has connections to local merchants. One of Foursquare’s goals, he says, is to recreate the type of brand affinity that consumers have with American Express.
“Foursquare has taken inspiration from AmEx’s ‘member since’ designation as to how we allow our users to evangelize or stake their claim to place. Much the same way that AmEx allows for that ‘member since’ designation, we want to create a ‘regular since’ designation … and allow merchants to communicate with those folks who are the most fervent, and are evangelists for their brands,” said Walker.
In working with AmEx at SXSW, Foursquare is taking this “regular since” idea to the next level, while also delivering on its closed-loop promise to American Express and the participating local merchants.
Next up, phase two.
Disclosure: American Express is a Mashable sponsor.
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
While many small businesses have started using Twitter in their marketing, finding the time to do it right can be a struggle. According to recent research by R2integrated, the number-one barrier to entry into social media for businesses is lack of time and resources.
Here are seven Twitter tricks from the pros that allow you to spend less time on the mechanics and more time engaging.
1. Follow Other People’s Lists
Using Twitter lists is a great way to keep up with what’s happening in your industry and connect with relevant people in an efficient way. And because chances are someone in your industry already went to the trouble of developing a great list of people to follow, there’s no need to recreate the wheel.
You can use a site like Listorious to search for other people’s lists by topic. For example, a boutique clothing merchant could use Listorious to search “fashion” to find lists of fashionable tweeters. Once you’ve identified a comprehensive list, follow the list and also set up a column or running search in your social media tool dedicated to that list’s feed so you don’t miss any tweets. When you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, go back and follow the top people from the list so you can start to build direct connections.
2. Cut Clutter With Microlists
When you’re following more than a few hundred people, your main Twitter feed starts to become more like noise than a conversation, and you’re likely to miss what key influencers are tweeting about… especially if you only have time to check in once or twice a day.
A great way to cut through the clutter is to create your own microlists of key people to follow. For example, I have a list of media, analysts and influencers who are important to my clients running in the center column of my social media dashboard so I can easily stay on top of what they’re tweeting. You can go back through your existing followees and put them into lists, and as you follow new people, simply put them into lists as appropriate. Follow these lists in separate columns to facilitate quick scanning. I’d recommend keeping these lists to no more than 50 people to keep the stream manageable.
3. Automate Routine Processes
While Twitter is a great way to make direct and authentic connections with your customers, there are still many activities that can be automated. For example, some tools, such as SocialOomph, let you send an automated direct message thanking new followers. Ping.fm lets you update your status on Twitter, as well as Facebook, LinkedIn and dozens of other sites, all at the same time from one place.
Another way to fit tweeting into your schedule is to develop tweets in bulk and schedule them to go out later. Many tools are now available that offer this functionality, such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Twaitter. Because most people only check Twitter off and on throughout the day, you can schedule the same or similar tweets to go out over the course of a few days without most people seeing the same thing twice.
4. Follow Keywords and Hashtags
Here’s another time-saving tip: follow keywords and hashtags to easily find relevant content to share. For example, activist blogger @unsuckdcmetro follows the hashtag #wmata (Washington Metro Area Transit Authority) to track real-time tweets about the DC Metro. This allows him to uncover breaking news for his blog and to keep up a steady flow of tweets for his readers without having to spend time searching for content.
I recommend setting up a running search or column in your social media tool on particular terms and hashtags so you can quickly scan for interesting content to retweet and for people to engage with. Some tools will also let you set up alerts to monitor particular keywords and will even periodically e-mail you a digest of the tweets that contain those keywords.
5. Mine Existing Content
If you’ve got a company blog, you’ve likely got a ton of great content that’s only been tweeted out once with a simple headline. Social media consultant David Spark recommends going back through your blog and pulling out good quotes as tweets with a link back to the article, and then scheduling all those tweets over time. You can do the same thing with your news and customer case studies as well. And while you’re at it, why not assign this project to a sharp team member who’s eager to participate in the company’s social media and marketing efforts? You’ll have one less task on your plate.
6. Share Responsibility
Ad hoc projects aren’t the only jobs you can offload. If your business has more than just a few employees, chances are there are several trustworthy people who could actually be tweeting on behalf of the company. Simply come up with a few simple ground rules for tweeting, review the protocol with your team and let them have a go. Supervise the tweets for a week or two to make sure they’re on the right track.
Citrix Online’s @GoToMeeting is a great example of how to do this right. It has multiple people tweeting and includes their initials with each tweet. The Twitter page also features the names and photos of these tweeters. This approach not only distributes responsibility and makes the Twitter conversation more lively, but also gives the company a more human face and personality.
7. Plan Less, Experiment More
Don’t spend ages planning — just start trying new things. Spark suggests that instead of having a one-hour meeting to plan your social media strategy, cancel the meeting and require team members to spend that hour writing a blog post. And instead of having another meeting, spend the next free hour reading the other blog posts, leaving comments and promoting it to your social networks.
How do you save time on Twitter? Let us know in the comments below.
Anandtech put the iPad 2 under a GLBenchmark 2.0 test, a great benchmark for seeing the power of the GPU (where Apple is claiming 9x the performance of the original iPad), and came away with some staggering results. The iPad 2, or I guess more specifically, the A5 chip is going to be an absolute beast for 3D gaming. It’s incredible, it’s almost silly to put the Tegra 2 (which is in the Xoom) and A4 in the same conversation as the A5. Anandtech says:More »
Aaron Forth, Vice President of Product for personal finance and budgeting service 
